''Addicted Romantic'' is the debut
studio album by
Australian
indie rock
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...
band
Faker.
Record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
Capitol Records released the album on 13 June 2005. Four singles were released from the album; "Quarter to Three", "The Familiar"/"Enough", "Love for Sale", and "Hurricane". Of these, "Hurricane" was the most successful; it reached number 21 on the
Triple J Hottest 100
The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music listener poll hosted by the publicly-funded, national Australian youth radio station, Triple J. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite Australian and alternative music of the y ...
,
2005. The album spent one week on the
ARIA Albums Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
at number 44, on 26 June 2005.
The album was recorded by Faker with Lindsay Gravina, of
Magic Dirt
Magic Dirt are an Australian rock band, which formed in 1991 in Geelong, Victoria, with Daniel Herring on guitar, Adam Robertson on drums, Adalita Srsen on vocals and guitar, and Dean Turner on bass guitar. Initially forming an alternative u ...
fame, at
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
's Birdland Studios.
The inspiration for "Enough", the first song written from the album, came to
lead singer
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
Nathan Hudson from a
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946)
is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''.
Called the "punk poet ...
song in 1997. Eight years later, the band worked with Gravina to produce "the winning sound" on the album.
He said the biggest challenge in recording was objectivity; choosing which songs to use, as well as improving their studio recording technique. Hudson told
Australian Music Online
Australian Music Online is a website that indexes information related to Australian music. Launched in March 2003 as an Australian Federal Government initiative, and originally proposed in 1998, the website was updated until 31 March 2007, at wh ...
that the band wanted people to "draw from their own experiences" when listening to ''Addicted Romantic'', which they hoped contained music people would relate to.
''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...
''s Andrew Murfett said the album was influenced by
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.
Sumner and Hook formed the band after atte ...
,
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...
,
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to eme ...
, and
Echo & the Bunnymen,
while Guy Blackman drew comparisons to
Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
Fr ...
and
Bloc Party
Bloc Party are an English rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle ( ...
.
Triple J
Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...
's review of the album called it "a dapper slice of post-mod power pop". ''
The Courier Mail
''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner northern ...
'' said it featured "love-struck schoolboy lyrics and passion",
and ''
The Advertiser'' called it the best Australian album of 2005, praising "urgent vocals and angular guitars".
Guy Blackman of ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...
'' called the Hudson's vocals "unashamedly accented" but said it was "almost refreshing to hear an Australian sing in a thick British brogue rather than the usual faux-American twang".
At the
J Award of 2005
The J Award of 2005 is the inaugural annual J Awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. The announcement comes at the culmination of Ausmusic Month (November), on 3 December 2005.
In 20 ...
, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year.
Following the release of ''Addicted Romantic'', Faker toured around Australia, supporting
New York band
The Bravery
The Bravery is an American rock band formed in New York City in 2003. The band consists of lead vocalist Sam Endicott, guitarist Michael Zakarin, keyboardist John Conway, bassist Mike Hindert and drummer Anthony Burulcich. They are best know ...
. The concert saw them "blow...
he Braveryoff stage" according to ''The Courier Mail''s Patrick Lion.
Track listing
# "Bodies"
# "Quarter to Three"
# "Love for Sale"
# "Volumes"
# "Kids on Overload"
# "Fucking the Exhibits"
# "Teenage Werewolf"
# "Seizures"
# "Hurricane"
# "The Familiar"
# "Enough"
# "Ghosts"
Personnel
*Nathan Hudson – vocals
*Phil Downing – guitar
*Nick Munnings – bass guitar
*
Paul Berryman
Paul Michael Berryman is an Australian musician who played drums for alternative rockers, the Superjesus (1994–2004, 2013–16), and Faker (2003–08). Nathan Hudson of Faker explained why Berryman had replaced founding drummer Andrew Day, ...
– drums
*Stefan Gregory – guitar
Additional personnel
*Lindsay Gravina – production
References
{{Authority control
2005 albums
Faker (band) albums